Fieldcraft Food bars for long use

[TheNewRoman]

Someone I wondered about and just found out about are food bars, because i always wanted a compact bar of 100% everything and packed with calories for activities that burn a lot of calories like backpacking long distance.
Anyways the person that told me about them told be it's not a good idea to take them for extended times. When i ask why I never got an answer and could find on on google.
Only thing I can think of that it might effect is how you crap.

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: Food bars for long use

supplement with local roughage and alternate protein sources. You also need some good fats to keep your wits about you for an extended time. Could you live on them for a week? eh...sure...but you will have a really decent case of constipation for sure. supplement them in any way you can for anything over a couple days.

I eat protein bars often because of my bariatric surgery (RNYGPS) and have noticed ill effects after eating ONLY them for a couple days - I would not recommend it without additional sources of food. Learn your local edibles

 

[Exo]

Re: Food bars for long use

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JasonB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">supplement with local roughage and alternate protein sources. You also need some good fats to keep your wits about you for an extended time. Could you live on them for a week? eh...sure...but you will have a really decent case of constipation for sure. supplement them in any way you can for anything over a couple days.

I eat protein bars often because of my bariatric surgery (RNYGPS) and have noticed ill effects after eating ONLY them for a couple days - I would not recommend it without additional sources of food. Learn your local edibles

</div></div>

THIS!!!!

ever had MRE's for a couple days straight? Clif Bars? when the time does come to sit on the thrown, you'll be grabbing the oh shit handles and thanking your wife for having the kids and not you. Not really a good time...

 

[TheLlam]

Re: Food bars for long use

Because food should be as natural as possible. Meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, nuts. Sure, science lab concoctions will provide calories for short periods of time, but there's a reason you never peered down the scope at a powerbaralope.

 

[texdoug1]

Re: Food bars for long use

I bought some Datrex bars, but haven't had the balls to try them yet.

 

[3oh8er]

Re: Food bars for long use

Always keep some in the pack for those unpleasant occurrences, but real food is the best.

 

[normbal]

Re: Food bars for long use

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Texdoug1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I bought some Datrex bars, but haven't had the balls to try them yet.</div></div>

Think sweet, oily, hardwood maple sawdust. Yum.

 

[WillAdams]

Re: Food bars for long use

Look up Mainstay as a "long-term" food. Beats the heck out of protein bars or energy bars. Don't know how long you could last on them ... have my whey protein powder for that !!!
FWIW

 

[cstmwrks]

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[jayd4wg]

Re: Food bars for long use

just a quick update - unbeknownst to me, my oldest son was popping 2 meal replacement bars a day out of sheer laziness and poor dietary choices that my wife took the easy road on - she didn't want to fight with him in the morning, so he got a protien bar...then at lunch, same thing..dinner was always a decent piece of protien but he wasn't eating hardly any veggies.

well...that all came to a head while we were camping for a couple days and dear old dad was leading the menu charge. i packed him with tons of good quality calories only to find out he had a weeks worth of protein bar induced traffic jam on the south freeway. it was gridlocked...and he was in obvious pain. we all had a good chat about this and what the cause was. in the end, little man got a glycerine suppository, and i made momma put it in...as a lesson to both of them. as I understand it, things were not pretty but in the end, it all came out okay. neither will fully forget the experience, of this i'm certain.

moral of the story...every box of protien meal replacement bars should come with a couple glycerine suppositories just in case. I would NOT use them for long term survival without natural roughage or local supplemental foods.

 

[Micdalen]

Re: Food bars for long use

They are a great emergency source of nutrition, but are not to be used as a complete replacement in the long run. There were lots of studies done during the cold war period about nutrition and replacement feasibilities during disasters and long term sheltering. There is nothing that can replace a balanced diet in human beings. There are trade offs of any replacement food designed. NO company wants to admit the shortcomings of their product, and usually covers their butts with the simple statement " nothing can replace a balanced diet."

While in service participated in a few feasibility studies on the use of nutrition bars, mre's and other repalcement nutrition. Nothing allowed a person to continue normal activity levels over a long period of time, like a good well balanced meal. Short term they were fine, but after 4-5 days performance, well being physically and mentally starts to degrade. At the two week mark everything is readily apparent on the effects of all of them.

We maintain a few in our boats for long hauls to the islands, but there is also other food stored for emergency. I have some in house as a fall back. As well as plenty of water. They will stop you up like concrete with these. We have dried prunes and raisans as a supplement, in the event of having to utilize them. We are not preppers, but having lived in hurricane zones, blizzard zones, and even here in TN where there is occasional bad winter weather, we maintain a few things just in case.

A balanced diet is necessary. Although thee body needs set nutrients, each day the body needs a changing diet to keep balance. There is never going to be a catch all replacement for human nutrition. So many think the meal bars are the save all. However they are not. They can lull you into a false sense of security. For an emergency they are fine, but constant use would take it's toll on the body.

 

[B3dlam]

Re: Food bars for long use

I have considered them as something to toss in a get home bag or something of that nature maybe a few in the surival pack on my plate carrier. They are better then nothing but with all the high quality freeze dried meals these days I think there are better options if you have the ability to prepare them.

 

[Redman797]

Re: Food bars for long use

Take into account, that almost all of those cliff bars, nutragrain, nature valley bars, all require the intake of fluids to process in your body. Even the GU stuff, power gels, need to be accompanied by at least a half a quart of water to process in your body correctly.

Ive taken power logs with me on longer trips as treats to supplement energy and keep me going, but in the long run, you will need some form of variety.

power logs were a mix of peanut butter, oats, dehydrated milk, nuts, m&m's, dried apricots, and whatever else you like. You mix it all in a bowl (yes it gets nasty), then you plop it on wax paper, roll it up, stick it in the freezer overnight, then cut it up into little chunks, and pack it accordingly.